CTP - Direct Plate Making (II)

The third resistance is the related supporting facilities, including the network, scanned copy system, as well as the imposition version, proofing system and so on. To cope with CTP, the general principle is that all require data.
In addition to the above three major issues, the other is the issue of talent. In the traditional workflow process, the exporter does not care about the output of the film, and all the subsequent work is done by another department. However, in the output stage, the CTP must carefully set the information on the machine to the layout, and require closer cooperation with the printing to obtain the correct information. This is related to who is in what position, what kind of instructions issued is correct, and this clear division of labor is difficult. After the introduction of cTP, the scope of knowledge must be expanded to master the main aspects of printing. In fact, there are few talents who are proficient in the knowledge of the business from typesetting to printing. Because CTP uses a digital workflow, people's problems will become more and more prominent.
The Status of CTP Development in China
In foreign countries, the application of CTP in the commercial sector accounts for a large part, exceeding 60%, while in China it is the application of the newspaper industry. Although CTP has been struggling in China's push factory, it is generally moving forward. Everyone has seen the benefits of CTP:
(1) The direct plate making technology eliminates the technological process of laser photocopying film imaging, manual imposition, printing plate and PS plate development and fixing process, and replaces the traditional simulation technology with digital technology. In this process, direct film is not used. The layout information is imaged on the printing plate, which reduces the number of images transferred and the influence of the human on the layout. The dots on the printing plate are a direct imaging spot, the image is accurate and clear, and the information is not lost in the high-profile spot, and is dark. There will be no stencil in some outlets. The quality of the printing plate has been greatly improved, and the printing effect has also become much better.
(2) The more direct effect of the process reduction is to save a lot of time and reduce the need for staffing.
(3) There are few domestic suppliers of CTP plates and computer-to-plate equipment. For a relatively long period of time, the domestic use of direct plate-making technology requires not only the import of technology and equipment, but also the import of the version of the village, making the initial investment and the daily plate-making expenses relatively large. The introduction of the CTP system is not a small investment, but in terms of the time taken by the CTP to win, to obtain the same effect, the investment in printing equipment will far exceed the input of the CTP. For newspapers, the proportion of plate-making expenses in the overall cost is relatively small. Compared with the time gained and the benefits generated, the use of the CTP system is worthwhile.
In Europe, the United States, Japan, or print, newspapers use CTP first. Li Tian has no other way, that is, the integrity of prepress data is easy to control. Because the newspaper office had to complete many layout edits in a relatively concentrated period of time, until the platemaking was completed, all the flexibility was limited to the time between the receipt of the press and the upper press. The newspaper industry is developing more and more rapidly. The obvious feature is that a large number of newspapers continue to expand their editions, changing the black day to a color version, and changing the single-sided color to double-sided color, which is a great pressure for many newspaper companies that still use traditional prepress technology. increased.
The earliest domestic was the introduction of a drum-type CTP with 8 lasers by the Standard Press in 1996, but later it was not really used for various reasons. The real application started in 1998, when the Yangcheng Evening News bought one each of American Optronics and Agfa Polaris. In 1999, the Liaoning Fine Arts Printing Factory purchased Heidelberg’s lifetime, and the Beijing Daily Printing Factory purchased a Danish Boluo Defu one. In 2000, Hubei Daily, Zhejiang Daily, and Xinmin Wenhuishe each bought an Agfa. In addition, Beijing Daily bought another Baoluodefu. At the same time, non-press printing companies in the southern Guangdong Province also started buying CTPs, with about seven to eight units. By the end of 2001, there were about 60 CTPs owned by the printing industry in China. I believe there will be more printing companies buying CTP this year.
The most typical application of CTP in the domestic newspaper industry is the Yangcheng Evening News. The volume of the Yangcheng Evening News was more than 600 copies each day, and the workload of the artificial edition was large. The newly established printing center of Yangcheng Evening News installed eight double-height tower-type printing presses. One-hour printing of 1.2 million copies of off-topic newspapers, and eight machines in turn required 512 four-up editions, and the time was very tight. At present, there are 6 Agfa CTPs in the Yangcheng Evening News, two old factories, four new factories, and a 10 km cable between the old factory and the new factory. The transmission speed is very fast, and the software design is also very good. According to the need to control the CTP equipment. In addition, the new plant adopts a four-page CTP, which can be flexible when printing, and the head is two scan heads. Each machine can produce 200 four-up versions with a very small speed, except for the first one. The version is a bit slower, and there can be three four-up versions in the next minute. In the past, the Evening News was written at eleven o'clock. After the CTPZ, it was not until 11.30, or even 11.45. It was impossible for manpower to have such high efficiency.
There are more and more colorful newspapers at the moment and higher overlay accuracy is required. The overprint accuracy of CTP is artificially incomparable, and the quality may not be uniformly and steadily controlled due to factors such as personal experience, lighting, and the position of the line of sight. In accordance with the traditional process of artificial make-up, a color display system requires 40 minutes, using CTP, and the first version only needs four minutes. In terms of manpower, the difference is also very obvious. In the Yangcheng Evening News, at least 30 people are required to use the traditional plate making process. After the CTP, only 5 people are required. It seems that the input cost of the plate is large, and the price of the machine is also high. However, considering the time, the benefits brought by the quality, the saving of labor costs, and the comprehensive consideration of environmental protection, it is certainly a good deal. (To be continued)